All too often we get comfortable in our jobs or companies doing what we do best. But periodically these good habits need to be re-examined. In recessionary times you need to constantly reinvent yourself and try new avenues to increase your market share or profitability.

Times are a-changing. The Internet is a dynamic environment and you need to become more active in social media, online networking groups, and good old fashion hand pressing. It’s also a good idea to reassess your website by freshening it up with new content, promotions and calls to action.

Another excellent way to reach out is to actively maintain a blog and blog at least once a week on topical issues of interest for your potential customers. – Bob Speyer, Web Success Team.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Following a trying period with little-to-no-growth and industry layoffs and pay cuts, legal professionals are turning to proven business development efforts to freshen their brands and generate business.

Working with law firms to help them dig out of this smoking crater, Moire Marketing Partners, a strategic branding and communications agency specializing in professional services firms, is offering some tips on how firms can position themselves for growth in the post-recession economy:

Incorporate social media into your business development efforts. Your clients, prospects and their suppliers are using it; you should strategically use it too. Leverage tools including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to connect with prospective clients and other professionals to build your network and demonstrate your expertise.

Be a brand ambassador. Remember, you are the face of your company’s brand. Use your interactions to communicate your firm’s brand promise and support that continuously in your efforts.

Network. Relationships matter. Social media is a great way to start a conversation with a client or prospect – but don’t let it stop there. Offer to meet new and old colleagues at an upcoming industry or bar association meeting, civic event, non-profit activity or social mixer – or host your own hospitality function at your firm.

Seize the podium. Apply to be a speaker at upcoming events. If you aren’t accepted, attend anyway to get a better handle on what topics are creating buzz.

Learn from other professionals. Invest in consultants to sharpen your brand. An outside perspective can help you assess the effectiveness of your business development efforts and offer insight into what strategies would work best for your personality type.

Be active in your home and business communities. Dust off those memberships in the local chamber of commerce and non-profit organization. Get involved in industry related activities and slowly increase your profile. Read more

It’s true, older generations are logging on to Facebook and signing up. Although, the 55 and over group isn’t as active as the younger groups, they are starting to recognize the value of social media and marketing. When I first started online marketing, I was the old guy. Now I see my generation recognizing the value of the Internet and how effective it can be for driving traffic and sales to businesses. It starts with social media. – WST

By: Glenn Gabe

Facebook is estimated to have 70.2 million unique visitors per month in the United States according to comScore. Social networking is booming, everyone is friending, following, tweeting, tagging, and grandma and grandpa are getting involved too. Wait a minute, did I just say grandma and grandpa? That’s what some recent Facebook research has shown. It seems the fastest growing demographic on the social networking giant is women 55 and older. That segment grew by 175% in February 2009, while men 55 and older grew by 137%.

I was definitely excited to see the data. I’m a big believer in social networking and love to see people in that age group join a site like Facebook. That said, reality set in a few days later. I ended up speaking with someone 66 years old who needed my assistance with their email account. Like many of you reading this post, I usually end up being the point person for technology-related questions for friends and family. I had an interesting few minutes on a phone call with her. Here’s a quick transcript:

Her: I can’t seem to find some emails I’ve written.
Me: Did you check your sent items?
Her: I’m in my email already. Where are my sent items?
Me: It’s the folder labeled “Sent Items” in Microsoft Outlook.
Her: I don’t think I’m using Outlook…
Me: What are you using to check your email?
Her: The e with a circle around it (AKA: Internet Explorer)
Me: OK, so it’s web-based mail.
Her: No, it’s on my computer.
Me: Yes, but you are accessing your email on the web. I can help you. What’s your email address so I can send you some instructions?
Her: I’m not sure, hold on.
Me: Jumping off roof now. 🙂

That conversation reminded me that not everyone is tech savvy. We come with computer chips built into our brains. Our kids instinctively know how to text and have built in wi-fi. But, we also grew up using computers on a regular basis. People that are 55 and older didn’t… We were typically the ones introducing computers and explaining how to use them. Needless to say, there’s a big difference between the various age groups and how they utilize new technology.

My 3 Degrees of 55 and Older

After the phone call, I started thinking about people 55 and older and the data I saw about Facebook. I’ll be honest, I started having doubts that many people 55 and older are jamming on Facebook, tagging photos, using apps, providing status updates, and grabbing their vanity URL’s. So, why was I skeptical? My parents are in that age group, and all of their friends. My in-laws are in that age group, and all of their friends. In addition, all of my friends’ parents are in that age group, so on and so forth. So, I like to think I have a pretty good feel for that demographic, based on interactions I’ve had with them over the past few years.

They Are Signing Up, But Not Coming Back…

The initial data I read showed that people 55 and older was a fast growing segment for Facebook (with women over 55 being the fastest growing). But, recent data revealed that although they were signing up, they were not returning to Facebook. Unfortunately, that did make a lot of sense to me. I can only imagine someone 65 years old hearing about Facebook from their children or grandchildren, signing up, and looking at their blank profile thinking, “What the heck is this??”

Getting My Own Data

Although reading all of this data about people 55 and older was great, it wasn’t sufficient for me. I wanted to know more. So I decided to collect some of my own data! I reached out to my network of friends and family with a quick Facebook questionnaire. I came up with five simple questions to try and understand how people 55 and older were using Facebook. I sent an email to my network and waited patiently for the data to come in. It didn’t take long to start receiving responses. Some of the emails cracked me up, others surprised me, and most reinforced what I thought. Here are the five questions I sent out:

1. Are you currently on Facebook?
2. If yes, what do you use it for?
3. How often do you visit Facebook per day, week, and month?
4. Do you enjoy Facebook? Why or why not?
5. Do you plan to join other social networks like Facebook in the near future (over the next 6 months to year?)

I ended up receiving 57 responses from people 55 and older.

A quick disclaimer before I reveal the data. This is obviously not a scientific study, nor was it meant to be. I just wanted to receive feedback from a trusted group of people that were 55 and older to see if and how they use Facebook. Let’s see what they had to say.

Lots of No’s, But There is Hope

As I started receiving responses, I saw a quick trend. NO. That’s the overwhelming response I received to question one (Are you currently on Facebook?) It ends up that 80% of the respondents were not on Facebook. When someone did choose to elaborate, I received some funny responses. For example, I found out about one man who isn’t on Facebook and also refuses to upgrade to broadband. I think the exact quote was, “Dial-up is fast enough!” I laughed out loud and couldn’t help but think that his response was something right out of an episode of Seinfeld. 🙂 Another comment that cracked me up was, “I think I was there once.” Wow, Facebook made such a big impression on her that she didn’t even know if she was on the site! Although I was hoping to see more people from this group on Facebook, I had a feeling this would be the case. Then I opened a few emails that gave me hope…

Wait, Facebook Can Be Helpful!

Sprinkled in with the no’s were some great responses supporting Facebook. These enthusiastic responses made me think there is hope. The first one that struck me was from a friend’s mother-in-law. Her enthusiasm about Facebook jumped off the page. Literally, if she could friend me, tag my photo, challenge me to a trivia game, and become a fan of my Facebook page, I think she would. She explained how much she loves Facebook, how she keeps up with her children and grandchildren, and loves seeing everyone’s status updates, photos, video, etc. She logs in a few times per day. Yes, she was the exception, but she got it (big time).

After reading her story, I received a few more no’s and then another great response came in. This time from a friend’s father, who logs in a few times per week to see what his kids are doing, he searches for people he went to college with, connected with some of them online and offline, etc. It was another great example of someone using Facebook in smart ways. He seemed to really like it.

More and more companies are turning to Social Media Strategies. In spite of all this attention there is still an element of weariness at the though of putting a profile on Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn.After 4 years of eating and breathing Social Media I thought I would put a few notes together to help others take the plunge.

The hooks: The why and where.
Way back in 2004, my daughter, still in high school, soon to be a graduate and off to college, announced that now she could finally get herself a Facebook profile. At the time it was open only to college students. Needless to mention I was intrigued. I already had a MySpace profile for the company and could not see it being of much use. Once Facebook opened its doors to the general audience I was the first to get an account.

To my surprise I found that I was networking with my peers and I discovered that not only I could post information but I got lots of good resources in exchange. I joined every group, downloaded every app and made tons of friends. I was now officially part of a community that could benefit my business. I was now hooked!

The arguments: Building a business with no time to spare
The more I shared our information, the more traffic came to our website. For very little cost I was able to create massive brand awareness. I saw a steady increase from month to month and a steady increase in lead generation. I devised a system that enabled me to do my actual work and make some time for networking. 20 minutes 3 times a day. For example: the phone call to a client became a personal wall post on Facebook and I began fielding inquiries through LinkedIn.

Introductory programs: Business benefits
As I progressed I discovered other Social Marketing Sites. There are many very good ones out there but I only have room for a few key ones:

Facebook has a “fan page” feature and a “groups page” here you can promote your products and services to your network of friends and colleagues. You can also create vertical groups for your “niche” pages.

LinkedIn is the choice for the corporate set and is strictly networking. One of the features is an answers box, here you can share expertise in your field.

MerchantCircle allows you to market your business in the neighborhood, it is a “business in a box” concept with all the tools you need to promote your services online.

Twitter is a micro-blog that allows you to post 140 characters. Here you can share relevant links, talk to your fans and follow relevant posts. The more followers you get the more visible you become.

YouTube speaks for itself. Needless to mention it exemplifies the power of viral marketing.

For those still wondering, I recommend that you work closely with your online marketing agency to establish a social media time allotment, which profiles make sense and what the ROI could be. And of course watch the metrics.

TeamWork Builds Web SuccessThe Web Success Team specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding “social web” and how to convert visitors into buyers at a high rate of return.

Your website can become an effective marketing hub for your business. To learn more about the power of Direct Response Web Marketing, log on to Why Direct Response.